Good Omens (2019)

The new BBC mini series Good Omens feels like a breath of fresh air in the midst of the mundane and unremarkable recent new movies and TV series released this year. Based on the infamous 1990 novel of the same name written by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, Good Omens spans across literally centuries of mankind since the time of Adam and Eve, to follow the story about the unusual friendship and exploits between a demon (David Tennant) and angel (Michael Sheen) as they prepare for Armageddon!

The first episode starts off with the birth of the anti-Christ which sets the stage for the "End Times". However, in a series of comedy of errors, the proceeding events leading to Armageddon becomes unpredictable. In between the series travels back and forth in time across all sorts of historical periods, to provide the background to the story and various characters as they appear. Logic is not of any consequence in such a premise of course. What the plot does provide is merely the platform for the story to take on ever unpredictable arcs and opportunities for comedy! The best thing about the series is the teaming of Tennant and Sheen in the two pivotal roles. Their comic energy is infectious and we are guaranteed of a good time just listening to their babbling nonsense! Then there is the added bonus of involvement of some familiar names such as Frances McDormand as the voice of God, Jon Hamm (TV's Mad Men) as Angel Gabriel and even Benedict Cumberbatch in a brief cameo as a heavily CGI-ed Satan! In between we have an incredible number of supporting characters who manage to hold their own in the midst of the convoluted plot!

Shows like these can something reveal how humans think and react differently. I recall reading about thousands of Christians protesting online about this TV series and demanding Netflix to withdraw from telecasting this series on the basis of it being "blasphemous"!! Firstly, I am surprised that there are still people out there who are so narrow minded and think a comedy series like this can influence anyone and that it can "make Satanism appear normal, light and acceptable"!! Secondly, they made a big error in their petition as the series was not broadcast by Netflix but rather by Amazon Prime. So basically they had petition for Netflix to cancel as show that they didn't even air! The humour in that real life error seems like an echo of the comic sense of Good Omens and probably ended up giving free publicity to the TV series.

If you are game for a bit of crazy comedy sprinkled with lots of dry British humour and not concerned about being accused of committing blasphemy by actually liking this version of God versus Satan, then, I strongly urge you to binge watch its six episodes.